A Russian Su-24 “Fencer” buzzes the guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) in international waters in the Baltic Sea on April 11-12. This was one of numerous passes over the ship, including close passes and orbits around the ship by a Russian KA-27 “Helix” helicopter that the US European Command described as “unsafe and unprofessional.” At the time of the first passes by the Su-24, the American destroyer was refueling its helicopter on the deck, and was forced to halt operations until the Russians were finished. Such passes are nothing new, but the Russians are getting bolder, and more dangerous, in recent months as the US and NATO hold exercises in international waters close to the Russian homeland.